


The Higher the Number

by Ultimate_Nerd_Lady



Series: Sybil System [1]
Category: Psycho-Pass, キミガシネ | Kimi ga Shine | Your Turn To Die (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Psycho-Pass Fusion, Death, Gen, Kidnapping, Smoking, Sybil System (Psycho-Pass), Trauma, police work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:28:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultimate_Nerd_Lady/pseuds/Ultimate_Nerd_Lady
Summary: Sara and Joe have never seen a world without the Sybil System. Today they start working for that system.
Relationships: Chidouin Sara & Hiyori Sou | Tsukimi Shin, Chidouin Sara & Tazuna Joe
Series: Sybil System [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041325
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	The Higher the Number

Sara stood in front of the mirror, tying up her hair, Clean and dignified. A natural orange ponytail, not too high, not too low, and a braid laced at the side to tie it together.

“Your Psycho Pass is at 37!” Miley chimed clear as a bell “You’ll have a great day with that healthy mind of yours! Ehehehehe!”

“Very good Miley.” Sara nodded “Now, put me in my work uniform.”

“Yes indeed! Ehehehe!”

Sara’s pajamas were chipped away at, being replaced with the uniform of the Sonobeno PD, for the first time. Sara moved around a bit in it. Tested the clothes and how the hologram synched with what was underneath. It was definitely cute, which was good. She smiled satisfied.

“This is good Miley. Now contact Joe.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keiji had a ritual cleaning up his room. It didn’t make much of a difference but it kept his mind occupied enough to get through the day. Plus, Shin gave him crap for not cleaning up his space so it spared him one headache. 

He knew he had a shit Psycho Pass but they seriously couldn’t have one of those cleaner drones everyone had to take care of it?

“Shinogi.” Megumi popped up on the crappy monitor “Your first job with the new recruits is in 10 minutes. Get your ass going.”

She rarely used professionalism with enforcers, which should’ve been a surprise seeing how nice she was to her kouhai, but it really didn’t shock him at all when he first experienced her harsh tongue. “Yeah, I’ll pick up the pace. Just being fashionably late.”

She gave him the stink eye for that. Not a surprise. He just strolled away to the paddy wagon where Shin, Kai and Alice were waiting.

“You’re late Keiji Shinogi.” Alice remarked, “As usual.”

“Hey, I’m a latent criminal. Is being ‘late’ the worst thing I can do?”

“Keiji! What would you do if we all got in trouble because of you one day?!” Shin whined, “Be more considerate!”

“We could just bash his skull in with a hammer.” Kai commented, “We are criminals after all.”

“Wha- Kai-“

“That was a joke.” Kai finished “We should not do that. We’d probably get executed.”

“Glad you’re on my side Kai.” Keiji laughed.

“I am not. You are quite obnoxious.”

Shin was clearly trying to hold back laughter, like Kai just put on a red rubber nose and honked it. Keiji knew to assume the position at this point.

“Let’s just prepare to make good impressions for the recruits!” Alice instructed, “We should not taint their young impressionable minds!”

“They’re adults Alice.” Kai corrected rolling his eyes “They surely can’t be _that_ bright-eyed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“And then…” Joe snickered leaning on Sara “Ryoko let out the biggest burp known to man! I busted a gut laughing!”

“Oh my god. And you didn’t record it?!” Sara reprimanded.

“I didn’t think she had it in her!” He defended himself dramatically “She is my fair Ryoko after all!”

The two of them continued laughing their butts off, Sara looking out the window. The sky looked gray, and it was predicted there would be rain today, so she hoped most of her first case wouldn’t be outside. Still, if she was with Joe, she could probably handle it.

Best friends since high school, Joe had promised to follow Sara around as her loyal dog, as long as test scores allowed it. Sara unsurprisingly had a lot of options due to her straight-A status, but leaving Joe in the dust was just not an option for how she’d treat her best friend. So she chose the highest rank option that Joe scored. Police work.

It wasn’t a bad idea either. Helping people was not a bad calling, and sad to say it, as much work as she put into her studies, she didn’t have any concrete goals set. Besides what would be better than acting out those detective shows she watched with her best friend, with said best friend?

There was a sound of a tap against the window and a speck of water made its way onto the glass, then another two came in quick succession, and a downpour quickly came next. The taxi driver stopping in front of a park was a pretty bad omen.

“We’re at your location.”

Sara and Joe pooled their money together to tip the driver, and walked out, getting under Joe's coat to shield them from the rain.

“I think I see where we need to be.” Sara pointed a finger out into the rain and towards a tarp where red and blue lights were flashing “Sonobeno PD here we come.”

“On three.” Joe smiled at her “One… two…”

“Three!” They shouted in unison, splashing through the already forming puddles and making their way to where a brunette woman was standing.

“Hello!” Sara approached, quick to take off the sopping wet jacket once they were under the tarp “I’m Sara Chidouin. And this is Joe.”

“Ah. The new recruits.” Megumi smiled “Glad to meet you. I’m your superior, Megumi Sasahara.”

“Is this the crime scene?” Joe asked looking around at the grassy field, free of blood and gore they had heard horror stories of not even shown on tv to keep Pscho Passes from skyrocketing “It looks really... normal.”

“Of course. We cleaned it up. Seeing a crime scene as intense as this could drive up your Psycho Pass.” She warned “And besides, the murderer pretty much attacked in broad daylight. Since the area is surrounded, they couldn’t have gotten far.” She smiled as a cart rolled up to the two of them carrying familiar-looking items from tv.

“Whoa! Are those dominators?!” Joe yelled “Cool!”

Megumi giggled.

“They’re cool indeed but this is a serious matter Joe Tazuna. Try to keep _your_ cool.”

“So… can we…” Sara pointed.

“Of course. You’re already registered in the database.” 

Sara nodded and took a gun. A screen that said ‘initializing’ flashed across her eyes, and then images sprung across her vision while noise played in her ears. A cacophony of screens were playing in front of her, like a computer desktop with a myriad of open files.

“Welcome, Inspector Chidouin.” A robotic voice greeted “Please take care.”

“Holy crow…” Joe smiled “I’m a real inspector Sara!”

Megumi giggled once more.

“Yes, well, all the images and noises might be disarming at first but they fade into the background over time.”

“So, we go out and hunt the bad guys with this?”

“Not exactly.” Megumi frowned for the first time “You’re not really doing the hunting. It’s more like supervision.”

“Supervision?”

“Well, now is as good a time as any.” Megumi sighed pressing a button on her uniform “Bring in the enforcers.”

“Wait, enforcers?” Joe recoiled “For our first case?!”

“Unlike your cop shows, we’re required to have them at all times.” Megumi stated “They’re pretty much our hunting dogs. Getting too intimately involved with solving crimes would mean your crime coefficient increases too much. This can be seen as a measure taken for your safety.”

“But…” Sara frowned “Aren’t they latent criminals with high crime coefficients?”

Megumi nodded grimly. A look of forewarning and understanding towards their fear as she looked them in the eyes.

“You should never let your guard down around them. They may appear normal but they’re highly dangerous. Approach them at an arm's length, and never get too chummy with them.”

A patrol wagon rolled towards them, opening with a careful, yet intimidating lurch. Four men were sitting in there, looking to her and Joe before Megumi moved her head.

“Come on, move it.”

Sara watched the four of them step out and walk to the dominators, sneaking glances at her and Joe each step of the way.

“These are your enforcers.” Megumi motioned to the group of them “The blonde one is Keiji Shinogi. The man wearing stripes is Alice Yabusame. The apathetic one is Kai Satou. And the one with teal hair is Shin Tsukimi.”

The gathered men didn’t say a word to the three of them. They seemed to be far too invested in getting their dominators initialized.

“... Hi! I’m Joe!” Joe introduced himself to them smiling “Nice to meet ya!”

“Finally a hello.” Alice rolled his eyes “You think we’d be treated with a little courtesy.”

“Alice, don’t be rude…” Shin gave the man an elbow that kind of seemed like it wouldn’t have impact on the mans rippling muscles.

Were these guys really latent criminals? Shin in particular looked like the least threatening person alive.

“Here’s our suspect.” Megumi pulled up a hologram showing a person with distinguished features “Sojirou Matou. His crime coefficient is 177. A forest green. Highly dangerous. He managed to murder a high school girl, and incidentally, a middle school student ran off after he struck and hasn’t been spotted since.”

“Jeepers…” Sara muttered.

“Jeepers indeed.” Megumi nodded “So, here’s how it’ll go. I’ll take Kai and Alice through the center of this area. Joe, you take Keiji through the east side and Sara, take Shin through the west.”

“Ay ay!” Sara and Joe saluted.

“Good job.” Megumi smiled “And here are some umbrellas. One for each person on this mission.”

“Ah!” Sara grabbed the umbrella being tossed at her, and turned it on, so a layer of protection surrounded her head from the rain “Thank you, ma’am!”

“This is nice.” Alice smiled “I do despise being wet.”

“Mine doesn’t appear to be working.” Kai noted struggling with his faulty one.

“Well, no time to deal with that.” Megumi rolled her eyes before turning back to Sara and Joe with a smile “Good luck to you two. Let’s find that suspect.”

She parted with those words, and Alice started running and panting after.

“I suppose I’ll have to use my trusty frying pan, as a drying pan.” Kai said putting a frying pan on his head. He gave Sara a knowing nod, then ran off into the distance.

“Um…” Shin scratched his cheek “It’s nice to meet you Ms. Sara. I guess we’re partners for now?”

“Yeah. And I’ve got Keiji…” Joe gulped turning to the mass of muscle behind him extending a hand “Nice to meet you…?”

“... Charmed.” He grinned, not making a move to accept the hand “Why don’t we get going?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Joe smiled “I’ll see ya, Sara!”

The two of them left. Sara. Alone with a criminal. If there was a time to choose her words and actions carefully this was it.

“Guess we’re stuck together huh?” Shin lamented “... Ah… that probably came out as an insult didn’t it?”

“A little bit…” Sara murmured, rolling her eyes.

“Um… sorry about that.” He muttered “I’m not really good at charming people on the first meeting… though I guess it’s pretty hard to do that when you meet someone through knowing they’re a latent criminal eheheh… heh…” 

He started to hide behind the scarf he was wearing “Now I’m just embarrassing myself.”

“Well, we can go now if you like.” Sara suggested, “I’ll probably forget about this conversation soon enough.”

“That’s reassuring…” he muttered sarcastically.

“... Sorry?”

“O-oh, it’s fine! Let’s just…” he started shuffling off “... Go.”

“Yeah, sure.” Sara started going after. Shin was soon to turn his back to her, his previous attitude contrasted with a clear knowing stride, and a confidence to where he was going. An assuredness to the case he was solving, unlike whatever that conversation they just had was. Once Sara was certain he wouldn’t turn back, she held up her dominator.

“Crime coefficient is 125. Mode set to non-lethal paralyzer. Target is an enforcer. Feel free to fire if the target is acting out of bounds.”

So he really was a dangerous criminal. One hundred and twenty-five. That was a ridiculously high number, and even she hadn’t had a score even close to that in her darkest hours. What did he do to drive it up that high?

“I can see you doing that you know…” he commented, “You don’t have to hide it.”

“Ah. Erm…” Sara lowered the dominator “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I told you, you don’t have to hide it. It’s pretty obvious you’d be suspicious of the person you were told was a dangerous criminal.”

  
Yeah, but now she felt like a jerk.

“So… how did it get that high?” She asked “You don’t seem the type.”

“... Just hung out with the wrong kind of person.” He shrugged “I kinda just got inducted into the enforcers after they tried… and failed… to capture him during a case.”

The description was vague enough to mean anything, and maybe a signal that he didn’t want to talk about it. She tried to think of her next course of action for a long enough time that she realized she probably missed the chance to do so, and instead looked around. 

The place she was walking was… dirty. And dimly lit. It didn’t look like the city at all. It looked dusty and the roads were made of mud, the buildings all looked like they were held together by gum and rubber-bands.

“Where are…”

“The backroads." Shin explained, determining what her query was before she finished it. "Unlike your cop shows, if people could run around the city while the drones failed to aim, we’d have a lot more criminals running around. 

"So they’re more inclined to hang out in back alleys. That’s why you were always told not to hang around those places.” He finished.

“... Oh.” She gulped. This guy was… pretty intimate with how criminals worked.

“Sorry, am I scaring you?” He smiled back nervously “It’s definitely different than it is on tv. The fact he even managed to murder someone is more than we’d usually allow.”

“Why did he do it…?” Sara pondered.

“Just being sloppy. His high psycho pass lead to him grabbing a hostage for safety. Obviously that didn’t work, but he was hopped up on enough stimulants that the paralyzer didn’t work.” He sighed “And in his state filled with electricity and drugs, he sliced her neck.”

“Yikes…”

“Yikes indeed.” He twirled a finger in the air “That’s why you go to therapy when the drones tell you, Ms. Sara. Skip out and you end up like that guy.”

“Have you ever gone to therapy…?”

“Well I either couldn’t afford it, or was a lowly criminal not allowed such luxuries so…” he shrugged moving his arms up and down in synch like a scale “Nope. Not a day.”

  
Such casual acceptance. Talking about being a latent criminal sounded like the morning grind and not something that weighed on your chest every single day for the rest of your life.

“... You don’t seem like a criminal.” Sara told him.

“Well, I don't think the words of a rookie who just met me over society's most trusted system would hold up against the authorities.” He muttered, “But thanks. It’s nice to have…” his speech suddenly trailed off.

“... Shin?”

“Ah… sorry.” He sighed “It’s just… look at this.”

He stepped aside and Sara noticed it. A bookbag crashed on the ground, its items spilled out and a disturbing lack of owner anywhere around. The idea you’d leave that in the rain was inconceivable.

“This might belong to the middle schooler who ran off…” Shin commented “I think our criminal might’ve grabbed her as a hostage. Ah, but the rain is making the footprints harder to see. Hm…” He inspected the bag's possessions finding… 

“A subway map!” He gasped holding up a dirty pamphlet “This is it, Ms. Sara! He’s planning to sneak aboard the subway!”

“Why would he leave it if he’s planning to take it…?” Sara asked.

“It’d be weird to show up with a dirty subway map. It’d draw attention.” He said, “And he has a hostage who could direct him anyway.”

“You’re kidding!” Sara turned pale “Then there’s no time to waste!”

“Right!” He nodded “Contact Megumi and Joe while we run for it. I’ll use this guide!”

“Right!” Sara took out her communicator “C'mon you two… pick up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So you’re a criminal huh…” Joe put down the dominator and walked alongside Keiji “What crimes did you commit?”

“That’s awfully forward.” Keiji smiled “You ask that to everyone you meet?”

“Grk!” Joe knew that was insensitive! He was just… curious. He was told to be afraid of people with Psycho Passes that high and this guy was just a coworker “I just… how did you become an enforcer?”

“Ah… that’s a lot nicer way to put it.” Keiji said half-jokingly “I actually joined as an inspector. After being here for a while my score went up. And now…”

He made a noise like a slide whistle while he dragged his finger down.

“Demoted.”

“Uh… that’s not gonna happen to me is it?” Joe questioned.

“Depends. Do you have morals?” Keiji’s face turned dark and Joe was beginning to wonder if he was going to act on that high crime coefficient.

“... Just kidding. Jeez, don’t look so scared.” Keiji smiled. “Just be a good person. Moral. Your friendly neighborhood policeman. Once you get used to it, you’ll know what the right path is. I just found out too late.”

“So… did you…”

“Wahahaha, again with this!” Keiji laughed “You don’t beat around the bush.”

“I… I mean…” Joe frowned “What are your tips for being a good person.”

“You sure you want that from a criminal?”

“Well, you’re acting like you know!”

“... Alright. My tips for being a good policeman…” Keiji sighed “Look out for the innocent. Don’t do as you’re told all the time. And when you have the opportunity to help someone, go and do it.”

“... That’s generic as hell.”

“Wahaha! You’re right! Sorry!” He smiled “But hey, if you’ve heard them before, there’s probably a reason.”

“So…” Joe sighed “Is that from experience? And if so…”

“Joe!”

Joe gasped and grabbed his communicator “What is it Sara?!”

“There’s a hostage!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kanna didn’t like this building. It was dark in here, and all the windows were boarded up so there was even less light. The only light there was from the man's cigarette.

“Please let Kanna go…” she did her best to sound brave but the lump in her throat betrayed her.

“I only need you for a little bit. I’m sure after this, you can run home to your family, and they’ll accept you.”

“Then… then why did… why did you kill sister?” Kanna stuttered out nervously.

“... That girl was your sister huh?” Smoke was blown in her direction and Kanna coughed.Tears formed in her eyes and she wasn’t sure if it was from the smoke, or the emotional turmoil “Huh.”

“You… you’re horrible!” Kanna yelled, “How could you do that to sister!”

“It’s not my fault!” The man yelled and there was a loud crunching of wood “I didn’t want to be a latent criminal! In fact, I was accepted just like you! But now some stupid number has them deciding I deserve to be locked up! I’m trying to survive here!”

“B… but… Kanna is scared of you!”

“It might happen to you too someday! Then you’ll understand my plight.” He said, “Nobody is safe from Sybil.”

Kanna started crying.

“I want to go home!”

“Not now.”

“Kanna wants to go home!”

“Shut up, or I’ll _make_ you!”

“Kanna wants to go home, she wants to go home, she wants to go-“

“If you get out of here, you’re in just as much trouble as me!” The man yelled.

“... Huh?”

“What do you think happens getting in a situation like this? Your crime coefficient goes waaaaaaaay up. Especially after your big sis died.”

“No… that’s not true!” She shouted. She was a good person! Her crime coefficient wouldn’t go up! Would it…?

“Now come on kid. We’re going to the subway.”

“Noooooo!” She whined, “Let go! Let go!” She dug in her heels but the man was pulling “Let go!” She started sobbing “Kanna wants to go home!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Darn. We just missed them.” Shin sighed lowering his flashlight “Well, they went out that door obviously. Let’s get to it.”

Every step made in the run down building caused a horrid creak to sound through the whole place. How anyone could’ve been hiding in there was a mystery to Sara. 

She ran her fingers along the walls, quickly pulling away due to how damp the surface was. She could look and see water slipping through the cracks in the cement and… something on the floor.

She leaned down and picked it up. It had an odd shape, a long tube like shape attached to a cylinder, and held up by a strange handle.

“Ms. Sara? Are you coming?”

“Yeah, it’s just-“ Sara held up the item “What is this?”

“Ah…” The room was dark but even Sara could see Shin's eyes go wide when he saw her “That’s a gun!”

“A gun?!” She looked down at it. She’d never seen that kind of thing before. Even any visual references to the old tools were forbidden out of worry knowing about dangerous tools such as them would increase people’s crime coefficients. And here it was in her hand.

“Ms. Sara, can you hand the gun to me?” Shin asked “I need to check if it’s loaded. And I’m sure you don’t know your way around it.”

“Ah…” Sara held the gun to her chest.

“... Ha ha ha, fair.” Shin laughed “It makes sense you wouldn’t want to just hand over the gun. But you do have to unload it.” He pointed, “First, open the cylinder. You can do this by pulling it down.”

Sara nodded silently, pulling on the cylinder while resting her hand on the metal grip.

“Ah, don’t put your finger there! That’s the trigger!” Shin warned, “You have to hold it by the handle.”

“... _Oh_. Whoops.” Sara slid her hands away and onto the handle, the surface becoming slick with her sweat. Then she went back to pulling on the cylinder, gasping when it loosened.

“Good job! Now, pull it down!”

Sara complied, seeing three filled holes in the 6 holed circle.

“I… think it’s loaded.”

“Okay. Then remove the bullets.”

Sara did so, shakily grasping the bullets within and pulling them out hands going wild. Then when it was finished, she dropped the gun, gasping for air.

“Ms. Sara!”

“I’m fine… that was just… scary.”

Shin quietly looked at the dominator and held it up.

“Wow. No increase in your psycho pass. You’re really something Sara. I’m just glad that thing isn’t dangerous anymore.”

“So should we take it…”

“Definitely.” He nodded “If someone else got ahold of it, we’d be in trouble. Ah… I’m guessing you still want to hold on?”

“Yeah… I do…”

“Alright... but to have something like this... our criminal might be executable.”

”You mean they can’t return to society?”

  
“Afraid not. Sorry your first case had to turn out like this.” He frowned “Why don’t we get to the train station? We still have time to save the hostage!”

”Ah... you’re right!” Sara nodded fast. She didn’t understand the hidden meaning behind the words at all.

She wished she never did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kanna stood atop a high up railway, worried that at any second, she’d be picked up and chucked off the side. The man didn’t seem concerned with that though. In fact, he was standing further away from her than ever.

“Um…” Kanna folded her hands “What are you… going to do?”

“Get to someplace they won’t be looking for me. Some abandoned shithole. Then I’ll live there and survive, with all the other people who went to that abandoned shithole.”

“But… are you never gonna see your friends and family again?” She asked quietly.

“... Nope. Probably not.” He began climbing the railing, waiting for a train's approach “It doesn’t matter anymore. As far as society is concerned, I’m a criminal.”

“... So...” She walked up to him “What happens when Kanna-“

“Freeze!”

Kanna gasped looking at a lady in an orange ponytail holding a weapon and a teal haired man behind her.

“Sonobeno PD! Surrender now!”

“I don’t think so-“ suddenly, Kanna's wrist was gasped and she screamed as she was lifted in the air, then dangled above the tracks.

“Mister…”

“You shoot me and the girl dies too.” The man said coldly “Don’t test me!”

The lady's eyes were wide, her weapon slowly coming down. But the teal haired man stepped forward.

“Not another step!”

He stopped. Kanna gulped, watching his numb eyes but… something of a smile was on his face?

“Stop smiling bastard! I’ll slam her head against the railing!”

“You wouldn’t do that…” Kanna looked up “Would you?”

“Oh, you wanna test me brat?!” Kanna felt herself swing. She screeched as she rocked to the side, a clumsy motion made in the moment, but Kanna saw an opportunity. Clung to the railing, and freed her arm to hold on to the gate.

“Keiji!” The teal haired man shouted “Now!”

Kanna looked to where he was shouting and saw a man with blonde hair holding the same weapon they were, a distance from their location.

~~~~~~~

“Psycho Pass is at 236. Mode set to lethal eliminator.” The robotic voice rang in Keiji’s ears “Please aim with care.”

Keiji grinned. He could notice Joe twitching with fear behind him.

“So long.”

He fired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The movies Sara watched never showed what happened when a dominator's lethal eliminator was used. Now she knew why. 

The man's muscles began bulging, then growing, bubbling into unnatural proportions and turning red as the man's shape became indistinguishable and his face was lost…

And then he popped like a balloon. Blood splashed everywhere. Shin covered his face while he was caked with the stuff. Sara stood just far away for no other drops to hit her face. 

But the little girl… she was covered in it. Her voice was coming out choked. And then… she screamed. Sara could hardly blame her, with that horror show. Even Shin looked close to throwing up.

“Hey, hey!” Sara ran up to her “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay! Here!”

The girl continued wailing while Sara did her best to hoist her up. She wasn’t exactly in a cooperating mood though.

“Shin! Can you help?” She asked at one point.

“Oh. Ah. Erm… Ms. Sara…”

“What is it?!”

“Her psycho pass is also set to lethal eliminator.” Keiji said coming towards them.

“What?!” Joe shouted starting to run up “That’s insane! She’s a kid! And she was the innocent hostage!”

“It’s just barely. Two points above when we could’ve just shocked her.” Keiji sighed “Shame. Now, step aside Sara.”

Sara looked at the little girl blubbering like mad. There was no way she was a criminal who had to be executed.

“... You have to go through me first.” Sara declared, doing her best to shield what there was of the girl's body with her own.

“... Ah, rookies are always like this.” Keiji moaned running a hand through his hair “C’mon Sara. Don’t act like an amateur.”

“How is it amateur to spare someone’s life?!” Sara practically screamed at him. He was coming closer, closing the gap, and she was getting kind of scared herself until…

“Hey, Keiji, let’s not start a fight with Ms. Sara.” Shin closed in on the railing “She is our inspector-“

“She’s new.” Keiji said closing the gap “Now Sara, I’m gonna need you to-“

A flash of blue came, and Sara gasped. Keiji collapsed onto the floor while Joe’s dominator was smoking.

“Sara! You’re safe! Don’t worry!” Joe shouted. Sara felt she could exhale and realized she’d been holding her breath. But…

“Ah…” The girl was screeching “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Sara looked behind her, but the little girl had already let go of the railing, and she was on the ground unable to stop it. But-

“Ugh!” Shin grabbed her arm just before she fell, sweat beading down his brow. “Ms. Sara, a little help…”

“... Right!” Sara grabbed onto the girl and the two worked together to pull her up, over the railing, while she sobbed and spluttered.

“Hey! It’s okay it’s okay it’s okay.” Sara said, “Nobodies gonna hurt you!”

Kanna sniffled “You mean it?”

“You’re a kid! Not a criminal! Nobodies gonna kill you!” Sara looked up “Right Shin?”

“Well… that area is kind of…”

A shot of blue hit the girl, and just like Keiji, she fell over. Megumi was standing where it came from.

“Tazuna, you will write a report about your enforcement.” She said “For now, we’re done here. Let’s take the kid in and go.”

Sara exchanged a look with Joe. Shin quickly stood up and began running past Megumi and towards Alice and Kai before she grabbed him by the jacket.

“You also have some explaining to do.”

“Oh… yes ma’am.”

Sara stood up, quietly walking to Megumi.

“Megumi this happened because of me… I…”

“I guess this is a typical rookie move. You’re a lot like Keiji when he joined.” She hand waved “Well, you didn’t damage anything so you can get off with a warning.” 

“Like Keiji…” she looked at the mass of muscle lying unconscious.

“Give it some time. You hang out with Joe before going back to the station.”

Sara looked back at her friend. He was still breathing heavily.

“Right…” Sara stepped back before running to Joe “Joe!”

“Hey Sara!” He waved “Man… I messed up didn’t I…”

Sara sat down next to him, and looked at the array of blood and guts the man had sprayed.

“... I hope we did the right thing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“God I messed up!” Shin buried his face in his hands on the patrol wagon back “What if I get fired for this? I spent two weeks in a cell and I already know if I go back I’ll go insane.”

“There there.” Kai tapped him with a spatula “It’s okay.”

“Will you stop that?!” He hissed “This is serious!”

“Just be thankful you’re not going to be immobile for days on end like Keiji Shinogi is.” Alice said, “I’m surprised the newbie had guts like that.”

“Damn Keiji… This is all because of him again!” Shin shouted, “If he hadn’t been a big jerk and closed in, and WILL YOU STOP PATTING MY HEAD WITH A SPATULA?!”

“No.”

“I think you did a good job Shin Tsukimi.”

“Don’t patronize me, Alice.”

“No, I mean it.” Alice said “You stuck to your moral guns instead of the dominator! And because of that, a little girl is alive.”

“... Yeah.” Shin shouldn’t have been smiling given the situation but that tidbit warmed his heart “You’re right.”

“I fear for the child’s development.” Kai said “Something as traumatic as this happening in her developmental years could be devastating to her psycho pass for years. She was almost executed.”

Shin frowned again remembering that.

“So… is she never gonna see the outside world again?”

“... With what happened to her… I fear the answer is yes.” Kai said.

How sobering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe sat by Keiji’s bedside, waiting for him to speak. It was past time to go home, and the slow beep of monitors and the wires sticking out and Megumi told him he wasn’t going to get a chance to talk to him tonight but he had to talk to him while he had that chance.

“... Blink if you can hear me.” Joe said. Keiji just looked at the ceiling “Beans.”

He stood there watching the clock. It went for an hour. Then another. By the third, it looked blurry. By the fourth, his eyes were closed and a little after that he was snoring.

“Cut that out, would you? Hearing you snoring really stinks.”

Joe jolted awake pressing his hands to the wall.

“Ugh… Keiji…”

“Look, you don’t have to apologize. I get it, you’re new, you panicked-“

“I’m not apologizing.” Joe stated, “What you did was wrong and I don’t regret shooting you.”

“... Okie dokie.” He looked like he was trying to smile but it seemed like facial expressions weren’t able to come through yet “Then what did you want to say?”

“I wanted to say that when I shot ya… I was remembering what you said.” He crossed his arms “It was generic but you’re right. I hear it over and over again for a reason. And hearing it helped me make the right choice.”

“... I see.” Keiji replied, “Well, you’re gonna be very good at this then.”

“... Yeah.” Joe smiled “Thanks Keiji. You really helped me today.”

“Cool.” He said “Now can you leave? I have to sleep.”

“Right!” Joe got his things, dropping a few trinkets out of his bag “Whoopsie! Let me pick those up…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sara arrived home, tired from the days shenanigans. This morning stuck in her head like a big red thumb, pinned to the wall by a thumbtack even brighter colored.

“Miley… can you scan my Psycho Pass?”

The image of the doll conjured in front of her, smiling as usual.

“Your crime coefficient is 29. You’ll have a great sleep with that healthy mind of yours! Ehehehe!”


End file.
